Flying doesn't agree with me!

Day 1

Flying London to Paris was quick: 40min. There was a snack which I missed because I was asleep. Manuel bagged it for later, just in case. I was far from knowing I wouldn't really need it.

We were late getting into Paris so we went straight to the next gate, boarding had already begun.

Boing 777 was taking us to Tokyo. First class looked very good, pity we are not travelling with such luxury.

The flight was very quiet, everyone was very keen on sleeping.

This time we flew Air France. The toiletries bags provided have ear phones and an eye mask. No ear plugs and tooth brush like KLM. Again, blanket and pillow. Pillow usually not very good but one cannot expect to be very comfortable when sleeping on a seat!

In a way I was very lucky to have slept 2/3 of the 12h flight. Jorge woke me up for dinner and I forced myself to eat half of it as I was afraid to be hungry later.

Unfortunately I spent the other third of the flight very sick. The long hours and the turbulence were a pain. Manuel kept saying  we were flying over Russia, what else could one expect?

I tried to watch a movie but it made me even more nauseated. I managed to persist and watched 'Florence Foster Jenkins' but by breakfast time I was feeling really sick and the smell of food  killed it for me. For the first time in my life I used the sick bag I had joked about so many times before. The boys continued with their breakfast, nothing distracting them from the food. I felt better and managed the landing.

Headache, nausea, tiredness and one stop at the toilet was enough to tell me I was dehydrating. I had had almost nothing to drink in a bid to avoid airplane toilets. Have I mentioned I have a slight phobia of them?

Flying doesn't agree with me!

I turned to Manuel's beloved 'Pokari Sweat', a rebydrating drink, a bit like a still 'Fanta'. Not my cup of tea at all but I had to force myself. I was finally in Japan again and instead of joy I was feeling rubbish.

I must also admit that the thought of having to go to hospital for some anti-sickness and IV fluids was quite daunting. Not that I am afraid of hospitals, it would have actually been an educational and 'sightseeing' activity for me (I am a nurse). But the thought of having to alter my plan. My beloved plan! Oh, what an anguish!

I managed half of it during the train ride to the accommodation. It all came out, or I thought, on arrival. I discovered that whilst I am incapable of vomiting in toilets in the West, I found myself vomiting in one in Japan. It's that idea that a Japanese toilet is cleaner (it is indeed!) and that I don't have my face close to crap.

Feeling better, as one does after voiding the contents of ones stomach, I headed off with the boys to the nearest Japanese fast food joint, meaning noodles, rice dishes, gyosas and the likes.

Before the food arrived I was out of the restaurant getting a bit of fresh air. It didn't help much. It was right there, on a bed of flowers by the side of the road partially covered by the darkness of the night, that it happened again. I'm sure that if it was during the day I would get plenty of disapproving looks from the Japanese passers-by. All I had drunk was water and Pokari Sweat, so I'm going to say I was graciously watering the plants for the benefit of Tokyo's air quality.

A bowl of white rice and a small vegetable broth, I think I managed alright. Before feeling sick again I quickly prepared to go to bed and left a water bottle by my bedside.

The nasty think about jetleg and sleeping too much during the flight is that you get a couple hours of sleep and that's it. It took me 3-4h to fall asleep again. The good thing is that my nausea was gone, I drunk plenty and when I got up in the morning I was back to normal.

We're in Japan. Sugoi (fantastic!)!!!